MAGICWHEELS™ 2-gear wheelchair drive is the Silver Medalist in 2007 International Design Excellence Awards from IDSA. According to the IDSA, the wheelchair from the company with the same name, provides its users with less strain on upper extremities, because of a proprietary sophisticated gear mechanism.
The company explains:
With over 9 years in development, it’s our pleasure to introduce a brand new type of wheelchair wheel, MODEL 2001. These all mechanical wheelchair hubs use a patented 2-geared drive technology specifically designed for manual wheelchairs.
MODEL 2001 can be adapted to fit most manual wheelchairs. It has 10 different handrim options which allow for use on both 2 and 4 speed models. Each wheel has an easy-to-use shifting mechanism that allows users to switch gears with minimal effort.
MODEL 2001 employs 2 gears: high and low. In high gear, MODEL 2001 moves like a normal wheelchair wheel. Shifted into low gear, your wheelchair becomes twice as easy to push and can be used to easily climb ramps, hills, door jams and any other types of incline. Low gear is also great for navigating thick carpet, uneven grass or gravel and most other uneven terrain. Additionally, you can use MODEL 2001’s braking feature while in low gear. This braking feature allows for 50% less force than is usually required to stop. This feature substantially increases the braking power you have with no extra strength required.
MODEL 2001 also has a hill holding feature. On an incline, the hill holder stops the wheelchair from rolling backwards between pushes, thus alleviating the need to surge your wheelchair while climbing. The hill holding feature can also be overridden so the user can back down or turn around on an incline.
Product page: Magic Wheels : 2-Speed Wheelchair Drive …
2007 IDEA Winners: Medical & Scientific Products